Improvement in corn-planter, grain-drill, and harrow, combined



"t ahmed 54 e i taire HOMER 0F KIRKSVILLE,`MISSOURI. Letters Patent No. S' ,37 6, lated March 2; 1869..A

' IMPROVEMENT IN CRN-PLAN'TER, GRAIN-DRILL, AND HARROW, COMBINED. v

-n-- The Schedule referred to in these Letters Patent and making' part o! the-sama.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, HOMER SMITH, of Kirksville,

in the county of Adair, and State of Missouri, have .of reference marked thereon.

Figdre l, of the drawings, is a plan view of my device;

Figure 2 is a side view, with a carriage-wheel re- Figure 3 is a longitudinal section.

. My invention has relation, to devices for planting corn, sowing or drilling grain, and harrowing the earth; and

It consists in constructing and combining novel and elcient means for accomplishing the results enumerated.

Letter A, of the drawings, represents the wheels,

Letter B, the axle,`and

Letter C, the neap of a carriage' or sulky to which my device is attached; the inner end of the left-hand Wheel having aflixed thereto a oog-wheel, c, by which the machinery, hereinafter mentioned, is mainlyactuated.

4The letter D is a frame, of a quadrangular form, adjusted on the axleand neap in the manner shown, and which serves to hold and sustain the main part of the machinery above the axle. Y 0n the lefthand side of frame D, I 'atlixan arm,'0, which serves as a rest, and in which bearings are formed for the journals of pinions c and' d, hereinafter mentioned'.

The pinions c and d areconnected to the arm C' by, a journal rotating therein, and are adjusted to be thrown in or out of gear with the oogged wheel a. at will, by the means hereinafter described. l

The lettere is apinon attached to the end of a shaft thatv extends inward, midwaybetw'een the carriagewheels, audresting and rotating in` bearings formedin arms'that extend rearward from the axle.

On the inner endbf this shaft is attached a bevelled pinion marked u, which meshes with the cogs on `the I bevelled4 pinion of lthe revolving carrier, hereinafter mentioned, and actuates the same.

The pinion uis thrown 4in and out of gear with the pinion 7c, at will, by the means hereinafter specified. The letter g represents the. revolving carrier of the corn .for planting. Itis a wheel, with a series ,of small apertures through itsrim, that are opened or closed, at pleasure, by 4means of lslides and set-screws adj usted over them, as shown on'the drawings. These slides and set-screws are marked h on the drawings, each of which covers an aperture' iny the rim of the, wheel.

tations, it moves so closely to the open bottoms of the hoppers, that no kernel of corn can pass therefrom, except t-hrongh the apertures aforesaid.

The letters Z are tubes or conduits adjusted immediately under the hoppers', and below the carrier, the oliice of which is' to receive the corn after it has passed through the apertures in the rim of the carrier, andl conduct it to the ground.

' The letters m are cross-pieces axed to spokes in the carrier, on' opposite -sides thereof, formed with a depression at their centres, which serves to operate the springs n, next mentioned. v

The springs n extend rearward from the lcarriageaXle, with ends bent upward and over, in such manner that when passedby the centres of cross-pieces m, respectively, 'they shall be depressed.

I attach rods o tothe ends of these Vsprings respectively, and connect them at their bottoms to the ends of 4lever-valves, c, the levers being outside, and the valves inside of the conduits l, above mentioned.

Above the carrier, and between it and the arm in which the end of its shaft rotates, I affix, upon ysaid shaft, lanches, represented by fr on the drawings, and upon the axle, I attach a brake,'s, which is `designed for operating with said hanches, to stop the wheel at the point desired, as hereinaftervmentioned.v The letter P is a sliding frame, adjusted in staples on a cross-bar of the main frame, as shown, the otlice of which is to throw thepinions of the machine in and out of gear with the cog-wheel a, and also-to operatel the brake s.

Letter Ris a lever pivoted to a cross-.bar ofthe main frame, and having a bent shoulder under'the top of frame I), the oce of which is to raise said frame when desirable. Said frame is raised, and the pinions of the machine thrown out of gear, by moving said lever sideways, to the. left, from the drivers seat, and said frame is lowered by its own weight, and the pinions placed in gear when the said lever is moved to the right.

'lo plant corn .in squares, I- open one aperture in the rim of the carrier, on each side of the carrier, at

Toplant corn in drills, or rows running one way only, I open as many of said apertures as maybe desirable, the number of such openings always corresponding to the distances 'desired between the hills of corn.

The letter S, of the drawings, represents a seed-box precisely opposite points. l

adj usted on the main iame of the carriage. I construct i this said box with compartments, in orderthat the seed, when being sown upon a hill-side, may not be forced to e'ltherv end of the box.

My seed-box is open, at its bottom, at the extreme ont side only.A Immediately under, or in this opening, I'adj ust a revolving cylinder, connected with and vrotated by the pinion Vo when in gear;

' immediately above the conduits b', from which it is carried to the ground immediatelyin the rear of the drillplows c. These devices enable me to sow grain in drills when desirable so to do.

For broadcast sowing, I adjust the guides af on a line at right angles with the seed-box, and thereby permit the grain' to dow down the apron, to the ground.

My plows are adjusted upon sexies of springs, in the manner shown. The springs are marked y on4 the drawings; their front ends secured to a roller, d', and their rear ends resting in slots formed in the lower cross-bar of the sliding frame l).

The ploWs, arranged for making iilrrows for corn, are severally attached to extended arms upon the outside springs, of the series above mentioned, in the manner represented. Y j

This arrangement of attaching the plows to springs, gives said plows an elastic movement, and adapt-s them to plowing upon uneven or stony soil.

The letters e' are'three .elbow-'levers pivoted 'to the neap of the carriage, and severally resting, at their lower ends, upon the upper sides of levers g.

Those lastnamed levers extend to the rear of frame D, where they are provided with hooked ends, to which,`

when desirable, I attach the harrow W.

The harrow W is constructed in the form shown in fig. l. It has amiddle iron bar marked h', which, when attached to thecarriage, is hooked to the rear end of the rod i', that is fastened at the forward end to the neap of the carriage.

The circular slotted bars j are united at their eentres, as shown, forming, with the rear end of bar h', a

convenient hinge.

By means of these slots in the circular bars, and setscrews orboltsadjusting them, I am enabled to widen or narrow the barrow, at will.

The outside levers g are connected with the outer frame of the barrow by the hooks ln', while the middle lever g is united thereto by means of a rod, o', which connects it with the dog s.

This dog is pivoted in'an upright arm upon the bar or rod h. When the rear end of this dog is raised, the front end thereof is pushed downward between shoulders formed in the jointed shackles that unite the front end ofthe barrow, and prevents the hinges therein from operating. The effect of this movement is -to enable thebperator to raise the entire harrow, instead of a part thereof, at once.

When this dog is not thus forced into said joinththe operator can raise either side of the barrow he may choose, by means ofthe outside elbow-levers c.

The dog is operated by the middle elbow-lever e.

The letters t are small casters or wheels attached to the'harrow at front and rear, as shown, the office of which is to aid in regulating the depth I desire to stir the ground or cover the corn; also to roll or press down the earth where the corn is planted.

I usually adjust these wheels to the harrow by means of slotted barsand thumb-screws, to make them adjustable,but I may also adjust them by other suitable means, the main object being to adj ust said wheels so that they shall serve as gauges, to regulate the depth I desire the barrow-teeth to penetrate the soil.

I make two of the wheels with arim wide enough to serve as rollers, thus making them serve a double oice.

In the lower inside of the hoppers H, I sometimes construct small openings, and close them with suitable `metallic springs, so adj usted as to prevent kernels of corn, or othergrain, from choking up the passage-way to the apertures in the carrier, the operation being that the springs will be pressed outward by the wedged kernels, and thereby a 'passage secured for such kernels.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. The carrier G, with its apertures, andslides, and set-screws h, when constructed and operating substan tially as and for the purposes specied.

2. In combination with the carrier G, the cross-pieces m, springs n, rods o, conduits l, and lever-valves, as described, when constructed and operating substantially as described.

3. The guides c', in combination with a seed-sewer, arranged and operating substantially as described.

4. The dog s', in combination with a harrow, constructed and operating as speciled.

f5. The sliding frame P, when constructed, arranged, and operating substantially as and for the purposes described.

6. A combined corn-planter, seed-sower, and harrow, having carrier G, cross-bars, m, spring n., rods o, tlanches r, brake s, guides c', levers e and g, springs y, barrow W, .with its slotted bar j, dog s', and guidewheels a', constructed, arranged, and operating substantially as described.

. HOMER SMITH. Witnesses:

JAMES P. Greaves, A. G. HEYLMUN. 

